My name is Westley and I'm a university student (= i'm broke xD). I read this forum for about 2 weeks because i was searching some good and cheap tea for me and my family since I heard (and read) somewhere that some tea can be good for people that have high cholesterol. Since i don't really trust internet source, but I trust serious forum like this one, I registreted here hoping that someone could help me!

I have some general question first:

1) Is it true that tea help to reduce the level of cholesterol? If yes, all kind of tea have this property or there is a special kind that have more impact than others?

2) How much is "too much tea"? I mean, is it ok to drink 1 lt of tea? (for example)

for me: 3) I was searching for a tea that can increase metabolism level and have an "energizing effect" since I was thinking to go to the gym and having a specific diet (meaning that I have to cut some caffeine, and I have to eat more often). So what type of tea do you recomend for me?

I'm sorry for the length of the post xD. I have so many other questions (that I will make after I have the answer of the general question) heheheh

My name is Westley and I'm a university student (= i'm broke xD). I read this forum for about 2 weeks because i was searching some good and cheap tea for me and my family since I heard (and read) somewhere that some tea can be good for people that have high cholesterol. Since i don't really trust internet source, but I trust serious forum like this one, I registreted here hoping that someone could help me!

I have some general question first:

1) Is it true that tea help to reduce the level of cholesterol? If yes, all kind of tea have this property or there is a special kind that have more impact than others?

2) How much is "too much tea"? I mean, is it ok to drink 1 lt of tea? (for example)

for me: 3) I was searching for a tea that can increase metabolism level and have an "energizing effect" since I was thinking to go to the gym and having a specific diet (meaning that I have to cut some caffeine, and I have to eat more often). So what type of tea do you recomend for me?

I'm sorry for the length of the post xD. I have so many other questions (that I will make after I have the answer of the general question) heheheh

Thank you all in advance

Hi Westley!

welcome to teachat. Unfortunately you will find that most people here do not attach much importance to the so-called "health benefits" of tea. The tendency on these forums is to focus on the flavors, aromas, other feelings, rites, rituals, and practices associated with tea culture.

So I won't answer your questions directly.

One of the best ways to get health benefits from tea is to use tea-brewing as a practice for daily meditation rituals. Meditation has a huge benefit on mental and physiological health.

Another way to get health benefits is focus on what you eat and drink. A diet that consists mostly of fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains is a good start. You can use tea to replace bad things like soda or excess alcohol and to make sure you are you are well hydrated.

Also if you are concerned about physical health, get a some light exercise and outdoor time every day. It doesn't need to be strenuous, but walking around for 8 hours a day is immeasurably better for you than sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day. Sunshine is also much better for you than indoor lighting, interestingly enough.

Finally, make sure you have the right attitude. Do things with your body that make you feel confident in your body and your health.

I say all these things to mention just one thing - the effects of tea on health are nothing compared to any of the things I just mentioned. They should be your priorities.

Drink tea to enjoy it. Simply doing that will probably have a larger effect than any biochemical effect of tea.

As far as specifics that you mentioned... First, "too much tea" depends on the type of tea and how strongly it's brewed. Generally if you feel that you have consumed so much tea that the caffeine is overwhelming and you become nervous and jittery... that is too much. The threshold varies for everybody. For me it is around 10 grams of tea a day. For some people on this board it's much higher, for instance 25 or 30g or tea a day. Consuming tea on a full stomach slows the absorption of caffeine, however. Second, your metabolism will increase with regular light to medium cardio exercise and maintaining a healthy weight. This is most important. Tea has a small effect but I don't think the effects are very noticeable or lasting.

I know that good health comes from a good diet and excercise =) but my father is on diet for years and he is been able to reduce the cholesterol a lot! but he is still over the "safety limit" and he tryed a lot of differnet diets. So I was hoping that some teas could give a little help.

I searched a bit on some 3rds and found out that some kind of pu erh can "wake up" more than others, so for my purpose I think I'll try some entry level pu erh to. I was interested olso on the Oolong!! The more I read and the more I get overwhelmed by too many cathegories/subcathegories/type/origin etc... I'll keep on searching xD

stryder wrote:.....but my father is on diet for years and he is been able to reduce the cholesterol a lot! but he is still over the "safety limit" and he tryed a lot of differnet diets. So I was hoping that some teas could give a little help.

Hi stryder, Poohblah gave you some great advice. In two weeks I get my blood tests back and will let you know if drinking a lot of green tea for a year has lowered my cholesterol. I also have high cholesterol, but am also very healthy. My HDL/Cholesterol ratio is ideal. Cholesterol is the building block of every cell in the body and is necessary for the formation of hormones. Among many things it is also necessary to make bile in the liver which processes fats and detoxes the blood. With low levels our brains don't work as well. Basically we need it.

Did you do these two ratio test, they are good indicators of risk? Divide;